‘Sabka sath sabka vikas’ is beyond Congress party’s comprehension, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing Rajya Sabha during the ongoing Parliament Budget Session on Thursday.
PM Modi was replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
“Here we talk about development for everybody… a lot of things have been said about it already… I fail to comprehend what is the difficulty there… everybody has to be on board… that is why the country has given the opportunity to us to be seated here,” PM Modi said in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Follow Parliament live updates
“As far as congress is concerned… from them to expect sabka sath sabka vikas [development of all] is a big mistake… it is beyond their thoughts and it is not going to suit their roadmap also… because it is a huge party and has been dedicated to a dynasty so sabka sath sabka vikas is not possible to them…,” PM Modi added.
“Congress prepared such a model of politics wherein fake things, dynasty, appeasement.. all these things were mixed together…. no question of sabka sath when all these things are mixed together… in the model of Congress, you will find family first and that is the reason, their policy, their methods, their speech and their actions are all centred around that one thing they have been handling…,” PM Modi said.
“After 2014, we were given the opportunity to serve the nation… the country has given us the opportunity for the third consecutive term… we have a vibrant democracy, vibrant media, freedom to say things is there…. reason is people of the country have trusted our model of development,” PM Modi said.
PM slams Congress over BR Ambedkar
PM Modi, in his Rajya Sabha address, accused the Congress of mistreating BR Ambedkar, saying that party’s dislike for the social reformer is “backed by documents”.
“We should not only be looking into history because I am saying so… how Congress had treated BR Ambedkar… how much did they dislike him and whatever Babasaheb said used to antoganise Congress,” PM Modi said.
“Everything is backed by documents… it can be authenticated…Congress left no stone to ensure that Babasaheb gets defeated in elections… because they could not tolerate him… did not consider him fit for Bharat Ratna,” PM Modi added.
PM’s Lok Sabha speech
In his address in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, PM Modi criticised certain individuals for “openly speaking the language of urban naxals,” in what appeared to be a scathing attack on Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.
PM Modi said that those who “declare a war” against the Indian State neither understand the Constitution nor the country’s unity.
The prime minister also took a jibe at Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) a day before the Delhi assembly polls, saying, “some parties are like ‘AAP-da’ for the future of the youth.”
PM Modi highlighted that while his government’s schemes had saved substantial amounts of money, they were not used to build a “Sheesh Mahal.”
Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address in the Lok Sabha, PM Modi made veiled references to Rahul Gandhi, stating that those who entertain themselves with photo sessions in the huts of the poor would find discussions about the poor in Parliament boring.
“Those who walk around with pockets in the Constitution, do they know how they forced Muslim women to live in hardship? We brought in the triple talaq law to give rights to them,” PM Modi said.
“Today some people are openly speaking the language of urban naxals. The things that urban naxals say (are being said). These people who speak the language of urban naxals, who declare war against the Indian State, can neither understand the Constitution nor about the country’s unity,” PM Modi added.
Although PM Modi did not name anyone directly, his remarks were seen as a reference to Rahul Gandhi’s statement last month, where he declared, “we are now fighting the BJP, the RSS and the Indian State itself.”
In a veiled reference to AAP leader Kejriwal, PM Modi stated that some leaders focus on “jacuzzi and stylish showers,” while his government’s focus has been on providing water to every household.
PM Modi also remarked, “some parties are like AAP-da for the future of the youth” as they make promises during elections but fail to deliver.
“Some government schemes saved a lot of money, but we did not use it to build ‘Sheesh Mahal’,” PM Narendra Modi continued.
PM Modi also took a swipe at Rahul Gandhi for his reaction to the President’s address, suggesting that those who enjoy photo ops in the huts of the poor would find discussions about the poor in Parliament dull.
After the President’s address on January 31, Rahul Gandhi was heard discussing the speech with Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in the Parliament complex. During the conversation, Rahul Gandhi asked if the President’s speech was “boring.”
“We did not give false slogans, but real development to people,” Modi said. “Till five decades, slogans of ‘garibi hatao’ were heard, and now 25 crore poor have come out of poverty,” he added.